The Western Air Temple
by Trisa Slyne
Summary: Zuko is trying to figure out how to join the gaang when he is interrupted by an unexpected and unwelcome visitor. Set after Day of Black Sun part 2. An alternate way Zuko could have joined the group.
1. Visitor

**Author's Note: I don't own A:tla.**

**The Western Air Temple**

**Chapter 1: Visitor**

Zuko paced at the cliff above the Western Air Temple. He had been pacing in the forest from the moment the Avatar's group had arrived at the temple. He had considered every possible way of approaching the group as well as the consequences for each.

He could hide in the temple and wait for them to find him. But they would probably think there was an ambush hidden elsewhere in the temple and leave. And of course they would be more careful about being followed. He could be more direct and just walk up to them and be completely honest, but he had no idea what he would say.

There were other, crazier ideas, too. He could pretend he was going there to hide out, too, and act surprised that they were there. He could find food and try to use it as a peace offering.

In the end he knew approaching them directly and openly was the best way, but he had chickened out every time he went to do so. Now the sky was fading. He briefly considered waiting until they were all asleep and sneaking in and trying to talk to the Avatar directly and alone. But he discarded the idea immediately. He would not trust someone who snuck up on him in the middle of the night. And there were so many things that could go wrong.

The sun was setting. His options were gone. He set up camp for the night.

Rustling nearby and a falcon's cry woke him up. He jerked awake, getting to his feet immediately. Someone was approaching him. _One of the Avatar's friends?_ But no, the direction was wrong. Whoever it was, they were not coming from the direction of the cliff, but from deeper in the forest. That left room for a very large animal or a person. _Who else would be out here, at this time?_

"Who's there?" Zuko demanded in a harsh voice, sinking into a defensive pose. _Please don't be Azula…_

A giant figure emerged a few feet away with a metallic clank. Moonlight filtered through the trees, allowing Zuko to distinguish features about the man, as if he did not already know who it was. A tall, hulking figure stood at the edge of his campsite. His head was fuzzy- he had not shaved in a while apparently- but his beard and goatee remained well-trimmed. A giant tattoo of a sideways eye took up the majority of his forehead. Moonlight glinted off his metal prosthetic arm and leg.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked, lowering his arms. "Didn't you get the letter?" Mai was not the only person he had written a note to before he left. "I canceled the job."

The man regarded Zuko for a moment. His name was, well, Zuko did not know his real name since he was apparently mute, but people referred to him as the Metal Assassin. The Metal Assassin smirked at Zuko.

Zuko took a step back. _Could Ozai or Azula have hired him to take me out?_ But no, that was not their style. "Are you here for the rest of the money?" He had promised the rest after the deed was done. "You can have it." Zuko reached toward his bag, but the Metal Assassin shook his head, still smiling. Zuko frowned. _What does he want?_

"I can pay you double to give up the chase," Zuko said warily. The Metal Assassin laughed a throaty, hollow laugh.

Part of Zuko's brain clicked. Uncle Iroh had warned him about hiring bounty hunters after he had hired June months ago. _"Most bounty hunters are driven by greed, but greed is not the only drive for some." _As usual, Uncle Iroh could not just say what he meant, so Zuko had, as usual, ignored him.

Now he was wishing he had asked more questions.

"Well then what do you want?"

The Metal Assassin pointed toward Zuko. He paled. If his family had hired an assassin, they would be expecting a body, not a captive. The only place to run to was toward the cliff- toward the Avatar and his group. That would just lead the assassin straight for them. He had a feeling that was not a good way of reconciling with them.

Zuko's pointed at himself. "Me?" His voice cracked.

The Metal Assassin shook his head. Zuko looked behind himself at the cliff, toward the Avatar. _So much for not leading him to them. _Zuko cursed. There was no way he could get to them in time, but there was no way he could stop the Metal Assassin by himself.

Well, at least he could try.

"I won't let you hurt them," Zuko took a fighting stance but edged backwards. _I can't shoot at him without running the risk of setting the forest on fire._ A large forest fire would attract people to come put it out. Any activity around an air temple in the area would raise suspicions and Azula would come running.

The Metal Assassin took a deep breath and Zuko dodged. The tree he dodged behind exploded and he stumbled. He looked up. He could see the edge of the cliff ahead. His best bet was to fight in the open ground above the temple. _Maybe they'll hear the fighting and at least wake up._ He was not sure whether they would help him or not, but at least they could defend themselves. He doubted they had thought to put someone on guard duty.

He heard the Metal Assassin take another deep breath and he made a run for it. He weaved in and out among the trees, making sure not to run in a straight line. The ground next to him exploded, but he did not lose his footing. He could hear the clank of the Metal Assassin's metal leg as he gave chase.

Zuko ran out into the clearing and stopped. He looked around. There was nothing for him to hide behind. He looked over the cliff. The Avatar's friends were likely near the bottom- or top, since it was upside-down- of the temple. He was not sure that they would be able to hear them fighting. He had left his rope back at the campsite so there was no way he could try getting down to them. _As if I'd have the time anyway._

His great plan did not seem so great anymore.

The Metal Assassin was almost to the edge of the forest. His back against a wall- or well, the edge of the cliff- Zuko was left with little choice.

Zuko took a deep breath and emptied his mind. He could feel the energy surrounding him. He took a strong stance and rotated his arms the way Uncle Iroh had shown him. _Uncle can do this. Azula can do this. My father can do this. I _will_ do this._ He felt himself stretching apart the energies. It felt more like pulling open a very heavy door that someone else was trying to push closed at the same time.

Sweat rolled down his face. Zuko released his hold on the energy and it exploded into him. Zuko directed the energy through his body the way he had done when Ozai had hit him with it. The Metal Assassin stepped out of the forest into the clearing.

Zuko pointed at the assassin. The Metal Assassin took a deep breath.

Lightning shot out of Zuko. The Metal Assassin released his blast.

Zuko saw the lightning hit the Metal Assassin just before the Metal Assassin's blast hit him square in the chest, sending him flying over the cliff.


	2. Regret

**Chapter 2: Regret**

Aang sat hunched over at the edge, dangling his legs off it. He was a few floors down from the others. He had his glider next to him. He had flown around a bit to help him feel better. Usually it helped. But not tonight. Tonight, he could not sleep. His heart was racing. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the faces of those they had left behind. Katara's dad. Haru's dad. Teo's dad. Pipsqueak. So many others. And then there were the faces no one knew about, those who had been dead for a hundred years. The ones he only let himself miss in private because no one else would understand. All because he had run away.

_I swore I'd never run away again, never leave people behind, and never let anyone else suffer because of me_.

Yet here he was.

They could be used for bait for him.

Or they could be executed.

His people had been deemed expendable. What about his friends' family? He felt warm and sweat popped up on his head. He wiped it and lay down on the cool floor, hoping it would help. _The avatar is supposed to protect people, not get them killed! How can I be the avatar when I'm the reason people are dying? _

The worst part was that everyone knew what they were doing. They were willing to die for him. _Am I worth dying for? _So many people had already died for him. Would his friends forgive him for getting their loved ones killed?

He gasped as he suddenly pictured Katara, angry, tears streaming down her cheeks. _'You monster! You left my father to die!'_ she said in his mind. _'I can never forgive you for this. I never want to see you again!'_

Pain shot through his chest. His eyes widened and his chest heaved into the air, lifting him up off the ground a tiny bit. He gasped and rolled over, clutching his chest and breathing in quick gasps. The pain lessened little by little until it left him lying face down on the floor, shaking and tense.

The pressure behind his eyes had built beyond his control. His eyes burned. And ached. He drew his knees up to his chest and hugged them tightly. "I'm such a failure as an avatar!" he choked and the leak was sprung. He covered his mouth, but he was done. He continued to silently scream as the tears came down. He lay like that, letting the pain out silently, for a long while. And then he was empty. And weary. Putting his head on his right arm, he faded into oblivion.

He woke to thunder and lightning.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Momo, curled up next to him, opened one eye and yawned. Suddenly, someone plummeted past. Without even pausing to think, Aang grabbed his glider and dove.

* * *

Zuko dreamed he was back at the Pohuai Stronghold, flying through the air with the Avatar. Back to that day he and the Avatar made a connection. He felt a surge of hope. _I'll do it right this time_, Zuko swore. _I'll save the Avatar and join his group now and we will defeat my father together._ He gripped his swords- and found nothing. He looked down, expecting to see the Yuyan archers ready to shoot them down while they were defenseless. But he found a deep gorge instead. Confused, he looked up. The Avatar was indeed carrying him through the night the same as back then. But where were they?

Aang set him down on the lowest level of the temple and flew over him a few feet in order to land infront of. He closed his glider and turned around, a smile on his face, about to make a witty remark about leaving the flying to him when he saw who it was and froze.

"Zuko?!" Aang said, sounding- to Zuko's chagrin- scared. He backed away, horrified. "What are **you** doing here?" Remembering himself, he took a defensive stance with his glider pointing toward Zuko. "How did you find us?!"

Zuko stood and held his hands out in front of him, palms facing Aang. "Wait, I can explain-"

An explosion rocked the temple and Aang looked up.

"IT'S SPARKY SPARKY BOOM MAN!" Sokka screamed from high above them. His announcement echoed through the gorge.

"Great. Just what we needed. The two people best at hunting me down joining forces to find me," Aang sighed.

"Um… He's not with me. I mean, I did hire him, but I cancelled the job…"

"What?" Aang interrupted. "_You _hired that maniac? He tried to kill us!" Aang glared at Zuko, hard. "Despite everything you've done, I have never wanted you dead."

Zuko opened his mouth but abruptly shut it. He closed his eyes and inclined his head. "I'm sorry," he kept his gaze on the floor and his voice was quiet. "I made a _terrible_ mistake and now all I want to do is fix it." He looked up into Aang's hurt and angry eyes. Another explosion rattled the temple and Aang looked up, his eyebrows pinching together.

"I can help…" Zuko said weakly.

"I think you've done enough, Zuko" Aang said. He ran to his left, away from Zuko, and dove off the edge.

"I'm sorry," Zuko called after him.

Aang did not answer. He just opened his glider and flew up.

* * *

"Ugh!" Zuko screamed, forming fists with both his hands. "Why did I tell him _I_ hired the assassin? He would've believed me if I'd said Azula had done it!"

Another explosion rocked the temple and he could hear more people screaming further up. He did not have time for a pity party. It was time to act. _I guess I'll have to show them I've changed._ He ran toward the stairs.

A few floors up and he was still far down. _Isn't there a faster way to get around this temple?_ He didn't remember this place being so big last time he had visited. Of course, then his men had explored most of the temple for him. The answer was so obvious he actually answered himself out loud. "Oh," he smacked his forehead. "Right, airbender temple… airbending."

He sighed and glanced at the floor he had just reached. Something was laying on the floor. Having a sudden flashback of finding Katara's necklace, he felt himself drawn to it. He ran over to it and picked it up. It was a white bison whistle. He looked up and blew.

* * *

**Author's Note: Panic attacks can be mistaken for heart attacks. No, I did not give a 12-year-old child a heart attack. But he did have a panic attack. anxiety-panic/guide/panic-attack-symptoms**


End file.
